Sunday, September 25, 2011

Bishops Say Obama Destroying Societal Norm

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a stern warning to President Obama that his attacks on the institution of marriage and religious liberty will “precipitate a national conflict between Church and State of enormous proportions and to the detriment of both institutions.”

Dolan said the bishops are especially upset that the administration and opponents of DOMA are framing their argument as a civil rights issue . . .

He also argued that traditional marriage is best for society, and that treating gay marriage as a civil right would lead to discrimination against believers and against church agencies that could not, for example, accommodate gay couples as adoptive parents.

The two-page letter was followed by a three-page analysis from the USCCB's legal staff that charges the administration with "hostility" to traditional marriage and a "new, more aggressive position" on behalf of gay marriage. In especially strong language, it also argues that the administration treats millions of Americans who oppose gay marriage "as if they were bigots."

"It is especially wrong and unfair to equate opposition to redefining marriage with either intentional or willfully ignorant racial discrimination, as your administration insists on doing," the archbishop said.

Archbishop Dolan underscored the church's position recognizing "the immeasurable personal dignity and equal worth of all individuals, including those with same-sex attraction" and said "we reject all hatred and unjust treatment against any person."

"The Catholic bishops stand ready to affirm every positive measure taken by you and your administration to strengthen marriage and the family," he said. "We cannot be silent, however, when federal steps harmful to marriage, the laws defending it and religious freedom continue apace."

"Our federal government should not be presuming ill intent or moral blindness on the part of the overwhelming majority of its citizens," he said. "Nor should a policy disagreement over the meaning of marriage be treated as a federal offense by federal officials."

This letter comes at a time when the Obama Administration has shifted from not defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to actively attacking the Act’s constitutionality. Just two months ago the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a brief in Golinski v. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, arguing that DOMA should be struck down as a form of sexual orientation discrimination.

“Every child has the right to be loved by both a mother and a father. The institution of marriage is built on this truth, which goes to the core of what the Catholic Bishops of the United States, and the millions of citizens who stand with us on this issue, want for all children and for the common good of society.”

Nevertheless, he continued, “While all persons merit our full respect, no other relationships provide for the common good what marriage between husband and wife provides.”

“Mr. President, I respectfully urge you to push the reset button on your Administration's approach to DOMA.”